Both men and women are more likely to become physically active, lose weight, and quite smoking if their parter joins them in the new behavior. According to the new study recently published in the JAMA Internal Medicine Journal, the difference is significant!
66 percent of senior women exercise if their husband do and only 24 percent of senior women exercise if their husbands do not.
Sarah E. Jackson, Ph.D., of University College London, England, and coauthors investigated the influence of a partner’s behavior on making positive health behavior changes.
Her team found that when one partner improved their behavior the other partner was much more likely to make a positive behavior change than if their partner remained unhealthy.
The changes Dr. Jackson and her team measured:
Stop Smoking:
Men: 48 percent vs. 8 percent
Women: 50 percent vs. 8 percent
Increased Physical Activity:
Men: 67 percent vs. 26 percent
Women: 66 percent vs. 24 percent
Weight Loss:
Men: 26 percent vs. 10 percent
Women: 36 percent vs. 15 percent
For more online information and resources visit Live Oak's health resources section.
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